Corporate wellness isn’t a new concept, but as
obesity rates across the nation continue to skyrocket, it’s more
important than ever.

According to Jeff Blunt, regional strategic
communications manager at Humana, the cost of health care has reached
its tipping point.

“A great deal of Americans eat too much, smoke too
much, and sit too much,” he says. “It’s a recipe for disaster, and
employers are truly hitting the wall when it comes to paying for the
health care of their employees.”

The only way Americans can change the costs of
health care, according to Blunt, is through leading healthier lives, and
it can be accomplished through improved decision-making in terms of
eating and exercise habits.

That’s where HumanaVitality enters the picture.

Members earn Vitality Points by engaging in physical
activities, attending health-related classes, and participating in a
sports league, among other ways. Work out at the gym once a day? That’s
15 points. Join the company softball team? Add 350 points. Just got your
yearly physical? There’s another 400 points.

Points are collected and used to buy prizes at the
HumanaVitality Mall — things like iTunes gift cards, sporting goods,
name brand clothing, and even hotel stays.

“It’s like a frequent flyer program, but with healthy living techniques,” Blunt says.

According to Blunt, HumanaVitality is unique to
other wellness programs because of its measurable results, rather than
basing results on self-reported data. Participants have the opportunity
to wear pedometers and heart rate monitors that upload results to the
user’s personal HumanaVitality webpage, and physicians report to Humana
with their weight, cholesterol, heart rate, and other health-related
figures.

The figures are then measured and a Vitality Age is assigned.

“This spurs conversation in the office and around
the workplace,” Blunt says. “People start talking about their Vitality
Age, which means they’re talking about their health. Social interaction
like this drives healthy behaviors.”

And interaction is key when it comes to one of
Humana’s latest developments: a partnership with video game developer
Ubisoft. HumanaVitality members can earn points for rewards by
exercising using Ubisoft’s fitness game, “Your Shape: Fitness Evolved,”
on the Xbox 360’s Kinect system.

“We’re constantly looking for new ways to help
people earn points and measure their activity,” Blunt says of the
program, which is even exploring the possibility of including similar
rewards-based incentives in its Medicaid and Medicare services.

He calls HumanaVitality a long-term approach to
improving health with short-term results. Sure, a person eating right
and exercising regularly will immediately feel healthier, but he says
more important is the commitment to improving health years down the
road.

And involvement in the HumanaVitality program has
shown great promise, according to Blunt, with between two and three
times the participants of other Humana health and wellness programs in
its first full year of availability.

He says HumanaVitality is one of the first out of
the box, but part of an emerging trend toward creating incentives and
rewarding healthy decision-making.